Dispenser for viscous substances



June 25, 1957 w. STAPLES ETAL 2,797,027 DISPENSER FOR VISCOUS SUBSTANCES Filed Sept. 2, 1952 yA/v W .STAPLES K SAM VA-SoLD INVENTOR S ATTQRNEY DISPENSER FOR VISCUS SUBSTANCES Lynn W. Staples, Hinsdale, Ill., and Sam H. Vasold, Bridgeport, Mich., assignors to Sugar Beet Products C0., Saginaw, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application September 2, 1952, Seriai No. 397,422

4 Claims. (Cl. 222-227) This invention relates to soap dispensers and more particularly to a dispenser especially designed for discharging from a container a small, measured quantity of highly viscous substance.

Considerable trouble has been experienced in the dis.

pensing of highly viscous substances such as recently developed waterless cleaning compounds. The Viscosity of these substances is such that they do not readily flown` When these air and they tend to entrap air bubbles. bubbles encounter a small orifice such as those which must be used in dispensing small quantities of these substances, the walls of the bubble arch over the orifice preventing the passage of the substance therethrough.

This renders the dispenser inoperative. Normally, these` substances must be dispensed under pressure such as by the use of a plunger which positively forces the material out through a nozzle. The interference with the operation of these dispensers occurs at the orifice through which"` the material must ow from its bulk source to the cham- Q ber containing the plunger.

Our invention is designed to overcome this ditliculty` by providing a simple and eliective means for both col- .v lapsing these bubbles in the area of the discharge orifice g and for tightly packing the viscous material immediately 1 Our invention provides;

.40 operation of the metering and discharging mechanisml and is particularly useful in dispensing waterless skin` cleaners and other related soap and cosmetic products. 1

above the discharge orifice. means for positively eliminating these bubbles upon each These and other objects of our invention will be immediately seen by those acquainted with the design of dispensing and metering equipment for viscous substances upon reading the following specication and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of our improved dispenser with and showing the piston in various positions.

Figure 2 is a central, sectional, elevation View of our viscous substance in discharge position.

the supply container for the viscous substance removed Figure 3 is a fragmentary, front, elevation view of our invention.

Figure 4 is a sectional, elevation View of our invention taken along the plane IV-IV of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the discharge piston for our invention.

Figure 6 is an end view of a modified design for the sweep blade of our invention.

In executing the objects and purposes of our invention, we have provided a dispenser having an open upper end for receiving the inverted end of a container of viscous substance. At the lower portion of the dispenser is a handle which, when rotated through a single cycle, reciprocates a piston to force the Viscous substance out through a discharge nozzle. During the iirst half of the handles rotation the piston is drawn back to openan aperture between the upper part of the dispenser con- Patented June 25, 1957 taining the bulk viscous substance and the chamber in which the piston reciprocates. During the second half of the handles rotation the piston is moved outwardly, closing the aperture and discharging the substance from the dispenser. The rotation of the handle also causes a Y generally U-shaped blade to sweep around the bottom Figure l indicates a generally cylindrical housing open' at its upper end to define a supply chamber 2. The upper end of the supply chamber 2 is of slightly greater diameter than the lower end creating a shoulder 3 in the wall of the supply chamber. The shoulder 3 provides aV support for an inverted bulk container 4. The bulk container 4 has a false bottom 5 consisting of a disc designed to slide down thek container as the material is used.` The true bottom 6 of the bulk container 4 is provided with a small air opening 7 which, until the container has been inverted and seated in the top of the housing 1, is closed by a piece of tape. The opening 7 serves to admit air to the space 8 between the false bottom 5 and the true bottom 6 of the container 4.

The lower end of the housing 1 is closed by a bottom 15. A circular hole 16 extends through the center of of the bottom 15 has a wide channel 20 having a lengthV somewhat greater than one-half the diameter of the chamber 2. This channel 20 is centered about the shaft 18. Concentrically with the shaft 18 a circular depression 21 extends downwardly into the bottom structure 15 from the bottom of the channel 20 for seating the circular disc 22. The circular disc 22 is mounted to the shaft 18 and has its upper surface flush with the bottom of the channel 20. Near its edge the disc 22 mounts an upwardly extending stud 23 upon which is mounted the blade 24. The blade 24 extends outwardly from the stud 23 almost to the wall of the supply chamber 2. The blade 24 is at adjacent the stud 23 but its shape changes substantially to that of a concave U at its outward end. The purpose of this design will be described under Operation A long, tubular spout 30 extends outwardly from the front of the housing 1. The spout 30 has a central, circular chamber 31 on its inward end communicating with the channel 20. The lower edge of the chamber 31 is in the same horizontal plane as the bottom of the channel 20. At a point spaced outwardly from the housing l,

the chamber 31 increases slightly in diameter providing a shoulder 32 against which rests a ball 33. At its outward end the chamber 31 has a portion of even greater diameter internally threaded to receive a gland nut 34 and washer 35. Between the washer 35 and the ball 33 is a compression spring 36 urging the ball 33 inwardly Y portion of'thepiston" 40r'is klcingitudinally slotted at 41` to'receive" therethroughrtherstud 23T 'I"he"slo't"4r is" of' such length that the stud 23 will not bind with the ends of the slot as the disc 22 is rotated. The forward end of the Vpiston 40 consistsof` a cylindrical' shaft42 desi'gned to'snugly but slidably seatwwithin the'chaniberyll". The

space between the forward' endof' 'the 'piston '40J and :the

ball 32 constitutes' themetering and" dispensing" chamber.

By varyingthe rearward position" of the 'piston' 40;'as ill lustr'ated in Figure 1,' the' amount'. of material `meteredv and dispensed can be" controllably' varied. The' dispensing chamber communicates with the supplychamber 2 through an openingv 44V in the bottom ofthey supply" Operation Our dispenser is charged by removing the lid from acontainer 4,'inverting it and seating it on the shoulder 3f of the supply chamberl 2. The tape is then removed from the hole 7 permitting air to enter the space between the false bottom and the true bottom 6. The weight of the viscous substance in the container will then cause the substance to now down and lill the supply chamber 2. Inrthis procedure'a certain amount of air4 will be trapped within the material as it lls the supply chamber 2. Additionalfair bubbles frequently occur in the material in the container 4and these are carried down with the material as it flows into the supply chamber 2; Because of the high viscosity of this material these bubbles will be unable to work their way up in the container and will be carried down with the viscous material. It is these bubbles' which have heretofore caused the diic'ulty in dispensing viscous material.

To' discharge a metered quantity of thisviscous substance,the crank 19 is moved throughone' complete circle of rotation. As the crank 19 is rotated, the blade 24"is caused to travel around the entire bottom of the supply chamber 2. Since the blade is concavely shaped it will compresstheV material ahead of it, forcing it down into a dense, thick layer at the bottom of the supply chamber. Any bubbles in the material will either be forced ahead of the blade 24 or they will be forced upwardly in the material away from the bottom of the supply chamber. This assures an adequate layer of bubble free substance above the bottom of the supply chamber and, thus, immediately above the opening 44. This material will flow, without interruption, through the opening44"in response to the weight of the material pressing v down from above. The blade 24 isspaced sufficiently above-the bottom of the supply chamber 2 to assure a layer 'of bubble free material of suicient thickness to lill the dispensing chamber. As the crank 19` is rotated, the circular travel of the stud 23 causes the piston 40 first to withdraw into the housing 1 'sufficiently to uncover the opening 44; While the opening 44 is uncovered the viscous material will flow into the dispensing chamber. Since the layer of material immediately above the opening,44 has been freed of bubbles this ow of material Willnot be interrupted and proper lling of the dispensing chamber is assured. Further, the ball 33 under the pressure ofthe spring 36 seals the outwardfend'of the dispensing chamber whereby as the piston 40 iswithdrawn into the housing an area of reduced pressure is created the dispensing chamber. This reduced pressure induces the viscous material to ow rapidly through the opening 44'under the influence' of the air filling the' spacev 8. The remaining portion of the rotation of the handle 19 causes the piston to move outwardly again closing the opening 44 and forcing the material in the dispensing chamber past the ball 33 and through the dispensing orifice 37. The pressure generated by the outward movement of the piston .40 will urge the ball 33 outwardly against the spring 36 suliciently to' uncover the dispensing orifice 37. During'the last portion of the movement of the crank the blade 24 will' again pass over the opening 44 eliminating any new bubbles which may have been moved down from the upper portion of the supply charnber 2 by the flow of material through the opening 44.

The elimination of the bubbles in the area immediately surrounding the opening 44 assures an adequate discharge of the viscous material every time the crank 19 is rotated. It becomes entirely unnecessary to periodically open the machine and work the bubbles out of the material to put the machine back in operation.

The blade 24 lis described as generally U-shaped and concave. This shape permits the crank 19 to be rotated in either direction withy the blade being equally effective in either direction. If, however, the rotation of the crank is limited to one direction, asV by use of a ratchet or some type of one-way clutch, the blade may beshaped on a simple incline ywith the leading-edge of the blade substantially above the trailing edge of the blade (Figure 6). In this' case the material will be engaged by the blade, forced downwardly to squeeze out any air. The effect on the material is the same as when the U-shaped blade is utilized but the blade is limited to uni-directional operation.

'lhe supply chamber 2 is shown to be of substantial. depth. This depth provides a thickness of the viscous material which will assure suflcient Weight of the material to press the material downwardly toward the opening-p44. Because of the poor llow characteristics of the material, a certain amount of downward pressure is necessary to assure a flow of the material from the supply chamber 2 into'the dispensing chamber 43. In this connection the useofa tall container 4 is also important because it provides a column of material of appreciable height thereby increasing the downward pressure inducing ow of the material intothe dispensing chamber. The weight of the material inthe container 4 is designed to cause rapid flowing-of the material into'the dispensing chamber and this height of this column of material in the supply chamber 2 assures proper flowing of the material into the dispensing chamber until the container 4 is entirely emptied. Thus, the container 4 may be exhausted and replaced with a new full container before proper operation of the dispenser will be impaired.` The false bottom 5 or wiper plate serves to effectively clean out the entire contents from the container 4 and to clean the sides of the housing 1 of the dispenesr as the waterless skink cleaner or other viscous material is being dispensed. The wiper plate or false bottom thus functions in a cleaning manner in addition to aiding the downward flow of the contents to be dispensed. Further, our design permits the container to be used as part of the dispenser thus reducing the overall cost of the dispenser and eliminating the time that would otherwise' be requiredto transferth'e viscous material from the container to the dispenser. The container and the dispenser cooperate as a unit for dispensing the material.

Various modifications of our invention may be made each without departing from the principlethereof. Each of these modifications is vto be considered as included in the hereinafter appended claims unless these'fclaim's vby their language expressly provide otherwise.

We claim:

l. In meansfor dispensing a .viscous material, thecom-V binationcomprising: a 'hollow housing; havinga bottoni4 providingta supply Achamber open'at its upper end; an:l

opening through said bottom of said housing communicating with said supply chamber; a dispensing chamber associated with said supply chamber by said opening; means for alternately opening and closing said opening; said means positively displacing material ilowing into said dispensing chamber to an outlet provided from said chamber; a rotatable shaft concentrically mounted through said bottom of said housing; an upwardly extending stud mounted to said shaft eccentrically thereof; a blade mounted to said stud adjacent the bottom of said supply chamber; said blade adapted to move through a circular path parallel to the bottom of said supply chamber upon rotation of said shaft; said blade in the direction of the leading edge thereof inclined upwardy whereby said material is forced downwardly by said blade as said blade is moved along its circular path said positive displacing means associated with said eccentric for imparting reciprocating movement to said displacing means within said dispensing chamber.

2. In means for dispensing a viscous material, the combination comprising: a hollow housing having a bottom providing a supply chamber open at its upper end; a dispensing chamber in said bottom; a piston having a slot at one end thereof mounted in said dispensing chamber for reciprocating movement therein; an upwardly open channel in said bottom aligned with said dispensing chamber; one end of said piston slidably seated in said channel for guided reciprocation therealong; an opening through said bottom of said supply chamber communicating with said dispensing chamber and adapted to be alternately opened and closed by said piston; a rotatable shaft concentrically mounted through said bottom of said housing; an upwardly extending stud mounted to said shaft eccentrically thereof, said stud extending through said slot in said one end of said piston; a blade mounted to said stud adjacent the bottom of said supply chamber; said blade adapted to move through a circular path parallel to the bottom of said supply chamber upon rotation of said shaft; said blade in cross-section being U-shaped with the ends of said U extending upwardly whereby said material is forced downwardly by said blade as said blade is moved along its circular path in either direction.

3. In means for dispensing a viscous material, the combination comprising: a hollow housing having a bottom providing a supply chamber open at its upper end; means for supporting an inverted container of material above said supply chamber; a container adaptable for inversion upon said supporting means; said container having a bottom and a false bottom, said false bottom being slidable axially of said container; an aperture through said bottom of said container for admitting air to the area between said bottom of said container and said false bottom; an opening through said bottom of said housing communicating with said supply chamber; a dispensing chamber associated with said supply chamber by said opening; means for alternately opening and closing said opening; said means positively displacing material flowing into said dispensing chamber to an outlet provided from said chamber; a blade mounted in said supply chamber adjacent the bottom thereof; means for moving said blade through a circular path parallel to said bottom of said supply chamber; said blade in the direction of the leading edge thereof inclined upwardly whereby said material is forced downwardly by said blade as said blade is moved along its circular path and means associated with said blade moving means for imparting a reciprocating movement to said positive displacement means.

4. In means for dispensing a viscous material, the combination comprising: a hollow housing having a supply chamber and a dispensing chamber, said supply chamber having an `opening communicating said chamber with said dispensing chamber; a positive displacement actuator positioned within said dispensing chamber alternatively opening and closing said opening and displacing material within said dispensing chamber through an outlet provided therein; an eccentric means operatively positioned to reciprocate the said positive displacement actuator; means for moving a blade mounted on said eccentric actuator through a circular path parallel to said bottom of said supply chamber, said blade provided with a upwardly inclined leading edge; and means associated externally of said housing for actuating said eccentric and associated members.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,703,032 Gorman Feb. 19, 1929 1,902,822 Becker Mar. 28, 1933 2,507,888 Clapp May 16, 1950 2,655,286 Barbaro Oct. 13, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 749,257 France Iuly 21, 1933 

